Buyer claims item missing from box

[alwaysthelowestprice]

Sold an electric Ember mug. Buyer claims the cup was not in the manufacturers box. It was purchased brand new from Kohl's by me. It was ordered online and shipped to me, I know it was in there and he's most likely lying. He just messaged me with a picture and said "please refund immediately". How do I proceed? Just ignore him? 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Sounds like a scam. 

What did the photo actually show? Was it just the mfr. empty box? My guess is that was it.

If the package was damaged, the carrier should have marked it damaged when delivered. 

Do you have your shipping receipt? That should show a decent weight of package with the product in it. Not an empty box weight. 

[dbfolks166mt]

The buyer opened a case initially claiming he didn't receive his item. He then closed that case saying support told him he needed to change the claim. He opened a new claim for "Doesn't match description or photos". It was automatically approved and my only option is to refund. I reached out to eBay via chat and asked if a police report would be required from him. They told me yes. I mentioned that my only option was a refund and they told me to wait until the 27th where they can step in and "see to it that we will maximize your seller protection".  

     Hate to be the bearer of bad news but what eBay customer service told you was **bleep**. If they step in there is a 99% chance that they are going to fully refund the buyer, retain your FVF's and ding you on your performance metrics for not resolving the case without eBay's intervention. 

     If you have a scan receipt from UPS showing the weight of the package you sent contact UPS and claim the buyer is claiming the package was/is empty. I am not familiar with UPS investigation process or their tracking enough to know if the weight of the package is recorded each time it is scanned or if they will even investigate. You may want to let your buyer know that you are contacting UPS who may reach out to them regarding the shipment. 

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

It sounds like the kind of "retail arbitrage" eBay forbids , doesn't it?

The seller advertises an item they do not have (not even in an AZ warehouse) and when it is purchased on eBay,orders it on the actual seller's site for delivery to the eBay buyer.

Not allowed.

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No, it doesn't. The OP clearly stated they bought it online and had it shipped to THEM, not their buyer.

Now if the OP never opened it they don't know for sure that the mug was in there.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@alwaysthelowestprice wrote:

The buyer opened a case initially claiming he didn't receive his item. He then closed that case saying support told him he needed to change the claim. He opened a new claim for "Doesn't match description or photos". It was automatically approved and my only option is to refund. I reached out to eBay via chat and asked if a police report would be required from him. They told me yes. I mentioned that my only option was a refund and they told me to wait until the 27th where they can step in and "see to it that we will maximize your seller protection".  

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No, your only option isn't just to refund. 

If your return policy is set to automatically accept returns, ebay does that for you so when you look at the listing, there's no option to click "return for refund" or for you to supply a shipping label. 

Note that this must be a fairly new change. I had a supposed NAD return request and the notice states that it was automatically approved by ebay. I have the return tracking number of the label ebay supplied.

However the bottom of the return details do have "offer refund" as the only option. If you click that, I believe the buyer gets to keep the item free. 

[alwaysthelowestprice]

Surprise, surprise eBay sided with the buyer and refunded his money. So much for them helping me out. You would think they would refund him and at least allow me to keep my funds since I have perfect feedback and never had an issue like this before. I guess that's selling on eBay for ya. They make it pretty **bleep** easy to scam someone, such a shame. Am I able to appeal or complain via chat/call or would I be wasting my time? So much for eBay requiring a police report from him too. SMDH

[coastaltechsolution]

@alwaysthelowestprice 

Would be waist of time, just move on and try and enjoy life 😁

[estateauctions1]

The worst part of all this is that eBay knows the scammers that try this con most of the time.

They only shut them down after 6 or so purchases they claim nothing was there, or not as described. The con men, change IP addresses and open under a new buyer and name.

I guess allowing them to stay low level $50 or so each time, $600 - $1,000 a year is not worth eBay's time for them to jump on the con. Even a bigger irritant is that after 20 + years here, 100% feedback, and they believe the thief and not me when this happens.

The trolls are watching right now, and will try to hit you and me again now, but drawing attention will/should get eBay's attention for the next time. ( all this comes from a former employee that was high up the ladder, and had a few drinks in them).

Good luck

[alwaysthelowestprice]

Quick update...

I contacted eBay via chat and they processed an appeal for me. A few short hours later and the appeal was processed in my favor. I got my funds back and there will be no defect. 🙂

Just curious, does the buyer still keep his refund? I would assume yes but if not that would make my day

[kako_5344]

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@alwaysthelowestprice wrote:

Quick update...

I contacted eBay via chat and they processed an appeal for me. A few short hours later and the appeal was processed in my favor. I got my funds back and there will be no defect. 🙂

Just curious, does the buyer still keep his refund? I would assume yes but if not that would make my day

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Yes, you got [a courtesy refund] and your buyer got [away].

Despite the buyer's default payment method to automatically pay for accepted offers and won auctions, eBay cannot use that, even if it's available, to retrieve your payment from your buyer that got [away] with the mug and the refund.

But eBay is keeping an eye (used to be more, but they were laid off) on your buyer now, if it happens again.